Posts by Mark

Just days after the close of voting in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey a ‘veteran gay rights advocate’ is already asserting that the definition of marriage will be changed and that this justifies a baseless attack on religious freedoms. Former Australian Democrats senator Brian Greig, is reported in today’s West Australian claiming that ‘staff…

The Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, has announced the inaugural members of the National School Resourcing Board established as part of the Quality Schools Funding package earlier this year. The Board members are: Dr Michael Chaney AO (Chair) Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC (Deputy Chair) Associate Professor Natalie Brown Professor…

The Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced a State Election for Saturday 25 November 2017. This will be the first Queensland election conducted under the full preferential voting system rather than the previous optional preferential system – with the number of informal votes expected to rise accordingly as a result of this change. Enrolling to…

Schools will have seen the media coverage earlier today in The Age in relation to a decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in relation to a claim of indirect discrimination on the grounds of religious belief against an independent Christian school, Melton Christian College. The claim, upheld by the VCAT member, related…

The Panel for the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools chaired by Mr David Gonski AC, has been commissioned to examine evidence and make recommendations on how school funding should be used to improve school performance and student outcomes. The final report and recommendations will be provided to Government by March 2018. The…

As indicated in a recent Policy Update, a number of schools have sought information and resources to use within their school communities outlining the importance and value of the current definition of marriage. Obviously, schools operating as a ministry of a particular church will need to refer to the position of that church to guide…

The Northern Territory Department of the Attorney-General and Justice is seeking comments on potential amendments to the Anti-Discrimination Act (NT). According to Discussion Paper they have recently released the Act ‘is in urgent need of modernisation to support achieving the objects of the Act.’ They also anticipate that a review could be conducted and completed…

As indicated in our earlier briefing the Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, appointed Emeritus Professor John Halsey from Flinders University to lead an independent review into regional, rural and remote education. Professor Halsey released a discussion paper which highlighted key educational challenges and issues that impact on the learning outcomes…